When it comes to the Hall of Fame of losing one's job, now former FBI Director James Comey may hold the number one position. Comey heard the news while giving a speech at an FBI recruitment event [the irony is not lost]. Comey was addressing a group of FBI employees in Los Angeles when a television in the background flashed the news that he had been fired. In response, Comey laughed, saying he thought it was a funny prank. Then his staff started scurrying around in the background and told Comey that he should step into a nearby office. It was at this time he stopped addressing the group and proceeded to absorb the news of his firing.

President Trump acted based on the clearrecommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “The FBI is one of our Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” said President Trump.

Here is the official statement from Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgement that he was mistaken. Almost everyone agrees that the Director made serious mistakes; it is one of the few issues that unites people of diverse perspectives.

The Director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution. It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement. At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and present its findings to federal prosecutors. The Director now defends his decision by asserting that he believed Attorney General Loretta Lynch had a conflict. But the FBI Director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Department. There is a well-established process for other officials to step in when a conflict requires the recusal of the Attorney General. On July 5, however, the Director announced his own conclusion about the nation's most sensitive criminal investigation, without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders."

Putting aside the many missteps and/orderelictions of duty​from now-former FBI director James Comey, it appears his handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation was the lynchpin for his downfall. It is interesting to note Rosenstein's choice of words when he states Clinton's investigation was "...the nation's most sensitive criminal investigation." Comparing Rosenstein's statement to the corporate media reporting and generally accepted political atmosphere at the time, many were led to believe the Clinton investigation was an unimportant undertone to be ignored and overlooked.

Despite President Trump talking tough about jail time for Clinton during his campaign, he has since scaled back his rhetoric and actions about pursuing Clinton. Was Trump waiting for Comey's removal to come to fruition before moving on Clinton's crimes? The next few weeks will be telling to see what stance the FBI and Trump take toward reigniting Clinton's investigation.

Comey's deputy, Andrew McCabe, now becomes the interim acting FBI director. The White House said the search for a new permanent director is happening immediately.As for McCabe, the Clintons appear to have ties and possible influence over him as well. In October 2016, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) ran the story titled, "Clinton Ally Aided Campaign of FBI Official’s Wife." In the piece, the WSJ writes:

"The political organization of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, an influential Democrat with longstanding ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, gave nearly $500,000 to the election campaign of the wife of an official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation who later helped oversee the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email use. Campaign finance records show Mr. McAuliffe’s political-action committee donated $467,500 to the 2015 state Senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe, who is married to Andrew McCabe, now the deputy director of the FBI."

While Clinton is an American housecleaning chore yet to be check off the list, a bigger issue is the dangerously fluid atmosphere of America's dying journalistic fourth and fifth estates. Before getting booted on his ass, Comey was birddogging Assange and Wikileaks for their role in leaking sensitive material to the public. Wikileaks, arguably the notable reason Trump won the presidency, was enduring increasingly adversarial public rhetoric by Comey in the past months prompting many to rebuke the US and their authoritarian stance towards press freedom. Aided by Trump's CIA director Pompeo, the slide towards silencing information and journalists in the US is still in critical condition. Titans for open government like Ron Paul made the following statement, echoing the silent US majority, recently defending Wikileaks:

"Julian Assange, along with the whistleblowers who reveal to us the evil that is being done in our name, are heroes. They deserve our respect and admiration, not a prison cell. If we allow this president to declare war on those who tell the truth, we have only ourselves to blame."

Given the recent events, two immediate questions must be front and center to begin to restore any integrity within the US republic. First, what stance will Trump and his administration take towards Wikileaks, Assange, Snowden, whistleblowers in general and the heart of what is left of American journalism? Two, will Hillary Clinton be allowed to run loose as an open criminal free from justice?

Julian Assange, head of Wikileaks, recently posted the following messages [below] to Twitter. The messages suggest a possible foreshadowing for the future of an FBI agency that now may have a window to maneuver as it sees fit. Assange also extends a virtual olive branch to Comey in the form of a job offer.